From time to time, our own T.V. Raman shares his tips on how to use Google from his perspective as a technologist who cannot see -- tips that sighted people, among others, may also find useful.
In the spirit of a recent post discussing some of our search experiments, last week we launched an opt-in search experiment we're calling Accessible View, which makes it easy to navigate search results using only the keyboard. Like many of our recent accessibility-related enhancements, this experiment is built using the basic functionality provided by W3C ARIA and Google-AxsJAX, an evolving set of HTML DOM properties that enable adaptive technologies to work better with AJAX-style applications.
The Accessible View experiment is another step toward making our search results more accessible for everyone. In July 2006, we launched Accessible Search on Google Labs, where the goal was to help visually impaired users find content that worked well with adaptive technologies. We continue to refine and tune the ranking on Accessible Search. And with Accessible View, users can easily toggle between regular Google search results and Accessible Search results by using the 'A' and 'W' keys.
When we designed the Accessible View interface, we first looked at how people used screen readers and other adaptive technologies when performing standard search-related tasks. We then asked how many of these actions we could eliminate to speed up the search process. The result: a set of keyboard shortcuts for effectively navigating the results page, and to arrange for the user's adaptive technology to speak the right information during navigation.
We've also added a magnification lens that highlights the user's selected search result. Since launching Accessible Search, one of the most requested features has been support for low-vision users. While implementing the keyboard navigation described here, we incorporated the magnification lens first introduced by Google Reader.
Bringing it all together, we implemented keyboard shortcuts that extend what was originally pioneered by the keyboard shortcuts experiment. These shortcuts help users navigate through different parts of the results page with a minimal number of keystrokes. The left and right arrows cycle through the various categories of items on the page (e.g., results, ads, or search refinements), and the up and down arrow keys move through the current category. Power users can leave their hands on the home row by using the h, j, k, and l keys. In addition, we enable an infinite stream of results viewed through the n and p keys — so you can move through the results without getting disoriented by a page refresh after the first 10 results.
Key
Behavior
j/k
next/previous result
n/p
next/previous result, scroll if necessary
enter
open current result
up/down
next/previous result
left/right
switch categories (results, ads, refinements)
a
jump to ads
A
switch to Accessible Search results
W
switch to default Google results
r
jump to related searches
Try out the experiment and give us your feedback.
Announced by T.V. Raman, Research Scientist, and Charles L. Chen, Software Engineer
Google Desktop and measure the time spent on actions such as starting up, shutting down, searching, adding a gadget, adding a new document to the search index, and so forth. We then took a page from the Google Chrome playbook by running the performance tests automatically for every single change we made to the software, on dozens of machines each time so that an average of the time measurements from all of them would give us a reliable comparison against previous versions.
Next, we refined an option that helps us improve the product, with your agreement. To send us information about problems you might experience, you can opt in to our error reporting system. If you have opted in, the system will send us anonymous diagnostic information about such events as crashes. In the new version, we improved this system to also detect and report situations where our product could be making your computer slow to respond.
We've learned a lot from these two new sources of data. The performance measurement system enabled us to discover some seemingly small changes that had a major impact on performance. We've been able to immediately fix changes that decreased performance, and learn from changes that improved performance. For example:
We found a way to cut memory usage during startup by about 50%.
Shutdown now happens five times faster, and we were able to avoid a seemingly innocuous state that would have almost doubled startup time.
From automated error reports sent by our beta testers, we learned that while Google Desktop generally performs very well, certain types of usage and some interactions with 3rd party software can trigger problems. We've made dozens of improvements based on this data. Here are some examples of what we've been able to fix:
A few obscure cases where interaction with third party software could slow the computer down when certain types of files were being added to the search index.
A rare issue that could cause slower computers to become temporarily unresponsive during Google Desktop startup.
We still weren't satisfied, so we analyzed the design of our software to find ways to improve it. This led us to make a few more changes:
We realized that with the hundreds of Google Desktop Gadgets available from third parties, there is always the possibility that one of them performs badly. To help you deal with this, we added a system that detects when a gadget is causing your computer to perform poorly, and asks you whether to remove the gadget. While we were at it, we added proactive security measures that prevent malicious gadgets from stealing information from other gadgets, and we made changes that allow Flash programs such as interactive games to be embedded in gadgets; for certain types of gadgets this can be a lighter weight approach than previously possible.
To reduce memory usage, increase stability and reduce memory fragmentation, we reduced the number of different processes that Google Desktop runs, and we now recycle some of our processes frequently (just like Google Chrome).
Microsoft Outlook users will be glad to hear that we've reduced memory usage while at the same time improving the coverage and increasing the stability of our Outlook support.
We've had a fun and rewarding time improving performance, because at every step of the way we were sure that you would enjoy our product even more. Please give our new lighter, faster version a try. We hope you'll enjoy it.
Announced by Jói Sigurðsson, Tech Lead, Google Desktop for Windows
Simply describe your items on Base to make them as easy as possible for people to find when they search. You dont even need a website to put your stuff online.
Google Base is a free Google service that helps you publish virtually any kind of information -- be it your latest riveting screenplay or a listing for your slightly dented 1989 Honda Accord -- on Google Base or other Google properties.
Select the type of information you're submitting (or create your own item type).
Click Next >.
After you've entered and reviewed your item's formatting, click Publish. Within a few hours, your item will be visible to the world.
Google Base is a place where you can easily submit all types of online and offline content which we'll make searchable. Using Base, your content can appear online within Google Product Search and Google Web Search, in addition to Google Base - all for free.
The main benefits of Google Base include:
Distribution Your content becomes more 'discoverable' when users are able to refine their search results based on attributes. You can also link users to your own website, thus making your content far more accessible to the world.
Ease of use You can post individual items by completing a simple web form or submit a data feed file with ten or more items in standard formats such as TSV, RSS 1.0 and RSS 2.0.
Free content hosting Google Base represents a new opportunity to put any kind of content online, even if it isn't a web page.
And you're always in control; you can edit or archive your items whenever you want. One last thing, Google Base is currently only available in English for the US and UK and in German for Germany. You can choose your version of Google Base by selecting the appropriate link below.
The key to success with Google Base is well-structured, clearly defined data. However you're submitting your content, attribute details will help you structure your content so that users can easily locate your items. The more information you provide, and the more you use attribute details to organize that information, the better we'll be able to match search queries to your items.
For example, an apartment hunter in San Francisco can restrict her search to properties for rent with three or more bedrooms that cost between $1,000 and $3,000 by refining her search by the "listing type," "price," "bedrooms" and "location" attributes, but only if these attributes were included for these items. Without these attributes, users won't find your housing post, because Google Base won't know whether your item has these attributes or not.
Submit
We currently provide three options for you to submit your information to us. If you only have a few items, you may wish to post these items one at a time through our web form. If you have more than a few items, you can quickly create and update numerous items using a single file by using our data feed submission option. Finally, for our more advanced users we offer the Google Base data API, a way to programmatically interact with Google Base. Single Item
Have 10 or fewer items? Fill out our web form for each item you would like to post.
A simple web form will guide you through the item creation process. This is a good choice if you have a small amount of content you want to add to Base. You'll be asked to select an item type that will allow you to categorize your content first. After that, you can submit all the details about your content using a form that contains attributes you can use to describe your item. All items created through the web form will be displayed on Google Base hosted item pages.
Upload a spreadsheet or XML file describing lots of items.
When submitting more than 10 items, we recommend creating a data feed which contains all of your content in a single tab-delimited text or XML file. Registering a data feed is also a good option for providers who'd like users to be taken directly to their website from our search results (just include the "link" attribute with the URL of your item page for each item in your data feed).
To submit a data feed, you'll need to start by registering a data feed file in your Google Base account. Registering your data feed lets our system know to expect your file, and what item type it is. To register your data feed, click the "New data feed" link from the top of the Data Feeds tab of your account. Once you've registered the correct file name, you can make updates to your bulk upload by simply uploading a new version of your file with the same name. You have two options for submitting your bulk upload file: 1. Direct Upload from the Google Base "Bulk upload files" dashboardFiles smaller than 20 MB can be uploaded through your Google Base account. Simply browse your computer for your bulk upload file and click the "Upload and process this file" button to submit your file. For more information on this option click here.2. FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
If your file is larger than 20 MB, you'll need to upload your file using FTP. Learn about uploading via FTP.
A free download that puts eBay, Yahoo!, and osCommerce store items directly into Google Base.
The Google Base Store Connector eliminates the need for store owners to manually submit their items' data by automatically formatting a store's items to align with the Google Base requirements.
The Google Base API is designed for developers with technical know-how who would like to integrate their applications with Google Base. Your application can upload new data, update or delete existing items, and query Google Base data to find matches for complex attribute criteria.
Once you've published your single item post or your data feed has finished processing, how long your items remain active will depend on the type of information you're submitting. For example, products will remain active in Google Base for up to 30 days. This helps keep your data fresh and ensures that our users get relevant results.
Still have questions? Find answers using the resources below.
Google Base Help Center - articles explaining everything you need to know to make your products searchable Google Base Help Discussion - find answers, ask questions, and share your expertise with other content providers Google Base Blog - the latest news, tips, and resources straight from the Google Base team
Submitting products to Google Base? Process your sales with Google Checkout, Google's fast and convenient checkout process that allows shoppers to buy items from you quickly and securely.
As you type, Google will offer suggestions. Use the arrow keys to navigate the results.This is similar to Google's "Did you mean?" feature that offers alternative spellings for your query after you search, except that it works in real time. For example, if you type "bass," Google Suggest might offer a list of refinements that include "bass fishing" or "bass guitar." Similarly, if you type in only part of a word, like "prog," Google Suggest might offer you refinements like "programming," "programming languages," "progesterone," or "progressive." You can choose one by scrolling up or down the list with the arrow keys or mouse.
We currently offer Google Suggest through several Google services, and we plan to add more. To get real-time keyword suggestions when you type in Google News searches, for instance, simply click the "News" link on the Google Suggest homepage. You can also use Google Suggest by downloading the latest version of the Google Toolbar for either Internet Explorer or Firefox.
You can set Google Suggest as your home page in your web browser's options.
As part of Google’s mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful, we’re constantly working to expand the diversity of content we make available to our users. With Google Patent Search, you can now search the full text of the U.S. patent corpus and find patents that interest you.
All patents available through Google Patent Search come from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Patents issued in the United States are public domain government information, and images of the entire database of U.S. patents are readily available online via the USPTO website.Google Patent Search covers the entire collection of issued patents and millions of patent application made available by the USPTO—from patents issued in the 1790s through those most recently issued in the past few months. We don't currently include international patents, but we look forward to expanding our coverage in the future.To date, the USPTO has made available approximately 7 million patents and over a million patent applications Using the same technology that powers Google Book Search, Google has converted the entire image database of U.S. patents into a format that’s easy to search. You can search the full text of U.S. patents from the Google Patent Search homepage, or visit the Advanced Patent Search page to search by criteria like patent number, inventor, and filing date.
Google Patent Search is currently available in English, and it includes only U.S. patents. We’re always looking to extend our products and services to users worldwide, and we hope to continue to expand the patent offices we cover and the language interfaces available.
Google provides a wide variety of services that are mostly accessed with a Web browser. Our users visit Google from a large number of browsers and platforms; in addition, we also understand that every user is special and may have special needs. Accessibility at Google is about making sure that our services work well for all our users, independent of the user's needs and abilities at any given time.Accessible Search is an early Google Labs product designed to identify and prioritize search results that are more easily usable by blind and visually impaired users. Regular Google search helps you find a set of documents that is most relevant to your tasks. Accessible Search goes one step further by helping you find the most accessible pages in that result set.
Google's primary service --- Web Search --- has a very simple user interface and has always been highly accessible from a variety of user environments. Newer services that present highly interactive user interfaces continue to present accessibility challenges when used with specialized adaptive technologies such as screenreaders. We are committed to finding accessibility solutions that make our services work better for all of our users.
Here is a list of accessibility related services from Google, including solutions to some accessibility challenges.
Web Search: Result pages include headers to delineate logical sections.
Book Search: Provides full-text access to public-domain works.
GMail: Provides a simple, yet functional HTML mode that works well with screenreaders.
GMail Mobile: Provides a light-weight user interface that is also speech-friendly.
Google Maps: Provides easy-to-use textual directions.
Calendar: Provides a functional, yet speech-friendly user interface.
Audio Captchas: All services that use Google Accounts provide an audio alternative for the visual challenge-response tests that are used to distinguish humans from machines.
Mobile Transcoder: Provides a mobile lens for viewing the Web that produces accessible views. Google Video: allows uploaded videos to contain captions/subtitles in multiple languages for viewers who are hearing-impaired or unfamiliar with the original language.
Google Talk: IM clients inside a Web browser can pose accessibility challenges, but the use of the open Jabber API means that Google users can choose from a variety of Jabber clients, many of which work well with adaptive technologies.
Web APIs: In addition, many Google services offer high-level Web APIs that aid in authoring mashups; this provides a means for creating highly customized accessible views.
Finally, many Google services such as Google Scholar, Google News, Blogger and Google Product Search work out of the box. While today's screenreaders can hit some bumps on the road when using more advanced features in these products, these web interfaces degrade gracefully to provide a functional interface.
We invite you to participate in our user community. Please tell us what works well, share your own tips on using Google services, and make sure to tell us what could be made even better!
Google Product Search (formerly known as Froogle) is a price comparison service launched by Google Inc. It is currently in beta test stage. It was invented by Craig Nevill-Manning. Its interface provides an HTML form field into which a user can type product queries to return lists of vendors selling a particular product, as well as pricing information. Product Search is only available for selected countries at this point.
Google Product Search is different from most other price comparison services in that it neither charges any fees for listings, nor accepts payment for products to show up first. Also, it makes no commission on sales. Any company can submit individual product information via Google Base[1] or can bulk submit items for inclusion. Google sells advertising through AdWords to be displayed in Product Search results adjacent to the unpaid results.
Google formally announced Froogle in December 2002 after the site had been active in beta for some years. It is now also offered in Wireless Markup Language (WML) form and can be accessed from mobile phones or other wireless devices that have support for WML.
Renaming
Google Product Search was originally known as Froogle (pronounced frugal). On April 18, 2007 the product was renamed to Google Product Search. Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of search product and user experience explained, "While it was a cute and clever name, it had issues around copyright and trademark, as well as internationalization… The pun (to "frugal") isn't obvious."
Increase traffic to your store with Google Product Search – for free
Google Product Search helps shoppers find and buy products across the web. As a seller, you can submit your products to Google Product Search, allowing shoppers to quickly and easily find your site.
Increase traffic and sales Product Search connects your products to the shoppers searching for them, helping you drive traffic and sales to your store. Your products will appear on Google Product Search and may even be displayed on Google.com, depending on your items' relevance.
Submit products for free Inclusion of your products is completely free. There are no charges for uploading your items or the additional traffic you receive.
Reach qualified shoppers Reach shoppers precisely when they are searching for items to buy on Google.
A Custom Search Engine is a tailored search experience, built using Google's core search technology, that prioritizes or restricts search results based on websites and pages you specify. Your Custom Search Engine can be tailored to reflect your point of view or area of expertise. With a Custom Search Engine, you can: > Apply your website's look and feel to the search results page. > Provide search refinements within results pages to make it easier for searchers to find the information they're looking for. > Add sites to your search engine's index as you surf the web. > Invite friends and trusted users to co-edit and contribute to your search engine. > Make money from your Custom Search Engine by participating in Google's AdSense program.
Once you've defined your search engine index, Google will give you a simple piece of code for a search box to place on your site or blog. You'll then have the option to choose various customization options to make the look and feel and functionality of your search engine your own.
Google's University Search enables you to narrow your search to a specific school website. Try it for things like admissions information, course schedules, or alumni news. To get into your target school, just click the name below.
Attention University Webmasters: Google offers free Site Search and Web Search to educational institutions and non-profit organizations worldwide. Sign up today.
You Can Search The Top most Universities in the Alphabetical order..
